Water, Earth, Fire, Air.
The elements, unimpressive when inanimate, but wholly powerful when manipulated correctly.
Water and Earth come together to make mud. Simple. But mud, or clay, have the potential to become some of the most impressive and ancient pieces of artwork after a brutal scorch in the kiln. When the bisque fired clay emerges from Fire, cold Air embraces and immediately crystallizes the ceramic, polarizing temperatures creating an iridescent shell of glaze that hugs the finished piece.
That.
Is the art of Ceramic.
I really, really did not know what to write about for my first blog post. I am not particularly creative, nor do I have a naturally entertaining and engaging writing voice. Although I do offer a plethora of stories and odd abilities, my surface can seem… average to a stranger. Unassuming, even. Like a water droplet, or a spec of dust. However, what comes across as unassuming usually carries an element of surprise, like how I am most definitely not your average fob. Or at least I hope not.
Anyways, that was a tangent.
Whether it be earthenware, stoneware, or porcelain, the art of ceramics is simply a mixture of “earthen elements, powders, and water [shaped] into desired form”. Of course, it being the most ancient functional art gives way to multiple variations depending on culture, but ceramics, or pottery, will generally be considered a completed piece once it has been glazed with a decorative paint-like substance and fired in an oven-esque structure called a kiln at more than two thousand degrees Fahrenheit for four to six hours, depending on the type of kiln and style of ceramic.
Much to my own surprise, I was recently exposed to another element of ceramic art beyond sculpture and glazes when G, the ceramics teacher introduced our latest assignment— Precise Piercings. Instead of choosing from a myriad of colorful glazes to decorate the outer layer of my bowls, pots, and vases, I would be painstakingly drawing a grid across my entire piece for carving intricate designs into the clay. These pierced shapes are openings that create decorative patterns in the work; the objective of piercing the clay is to not only push the limits of clay itself, but also challenge the technique of the potter while exploring the boundaries of positive and negative space.
While the process of precision piercing is quite time consuming ( don’t even get me started on how many hours I spent outside of school), painful (both mentally and physically draining), and not guaranteed to be rewarding (I cracked two of my project pieces when carving), it sheds light on an aspect of pottery that is often left in the dark.
In order to pierce the clay without damaging the overall shape of the piece, I had to wedge and throw my clay piece of choice, (say a bowl) three days beforehand to allow it enough time to become “leather hard”, a stage where the clay is firm to the touch but still malleable without the risk of it cracking due to dryness. This warranted that I create a rough outline of my project and plan out the entire creative process, something that as a procrastinator, I greatly struggle with. In addition to planning ahead, it also required great amounts of patience, as the act of piercing clay with precise, often geometric patterns, is beyond tedious.
I experienced these challenges first hand when I spent two whole days throwing a popcorn-bowl-sized piece only to start all over again when it collapsed during the piercing process.
Why? Because I had accidentally left it out to dry two hours too long.
Heck.
This is the beauty of working with clay. While this medium may be considered child’s play, it demands a precarious balance between frank boldness and almost-wary precaution, not to mention absolute attention to detail. I suppose these qualities are the reason I decided to pick up ceramics as an additional artistic outlet a couple years ago. I thrive in extremes; I am to create a pattern detail no bigger than my pinky nail all over a jar as big as my head? I am also to release aggression by throwing, smashing, pulling dirt for a grade?
Heck. Yes.
I loved the rash, hearty choices and movements I got to make when throwing vases larger than my head as much as I adored the process of shaping dainty sakazukis used for serving sake, Japanese ceremonial rice wine. This time, the Precise Piercing project prompted me to reflect on my less confident attributes instead— pre-planning, waiting, creating, waiting, and then more waiting.
But Abrahan Lincoln said “good things come to those who wait”, and boy, oh boy did that directly apply to my project. My piece that took up the most time ended up quite impressive, if I do say so myself. I guess there really is no moral to this story, it was simply yet another process of me finally coming to terms with my flaws and using inconspicuous ways to trick myself, hoping to refine and improve my own character. Art exposes our greatest weaknesses, but it also heals them.
Wait, does this make me an Earthbender?
Darn it, I always wanted to be a Waterbender.
*unfortunately, I am currently twice firing my project to achieve additional coloring so I was unable to attach a photo of my own Precise Piercings, but I will definitely return for an update when they emerge from the kiln!
Below are a couple informative links to articles of a professional potter who is own for his work in Precise Piercings, feel free to explore them if you are interested after reading:
https://ceramicartsnetwork.org/pottery-making-illustrated/article/precision-piercing-3/#
http://stearnsceramics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Stearns_PMI_JanFeb2016.pdf
https://depts.washington.edu/matseed/mse_resources/Webpage/Ceramics/ceramics.htm
Who knew clay had so much personality?? Short and sweet, I enjoyed your informative storytelling, which brought this art form to life.